Training partner

"You train by fighting with your clones?"

"I recently started doing that, but it's not entirely useful if you consider that I only know how to hit without any technique."

"And what about that cliff?"

"I train my body and grip strength" Turning his gaze towards the cliff, Naruto was silent for a few seconds and continued "You can do it too, but I recommend you not to try to imitate what I do, after all I have some advantages in my body that you don't... let's say, if you take a day to heal your wounds, I can do it in a fraction of that time, and that's something that allows me to be harder on my body without thinking too much about my recovery time"

"What shall we do today?" Nodding, Sasuke asked.

"I'd like us to fight together with our clones to gain combat experience, but I think it's best if you improve your chakra control first and get familiar with the clone technique" Turning around, Naruto continued "Do you know how to walk on water?"

"No..."

"Then we'll start with that, follow me, there's a river nearby that's perfect for training."

Staring at Naruto's back for a few seconds, Sasuke took one last look at the shattered area around him and followed Naruto.

Arriving by the river, Naruto gathered some chakra in his feet and placed a foot on the rushing river, then walked a few steps over the water and turned his gaze to Sasuke "This is the first thing you need to learn. You have to gather chakra in your feet and then slowly calibrate the exact amount to be able to stay afloat."

"Right"

Getting out of the river, Naruto continued "I recommend you start on one foot first, as the river has constant movement and is much more difficult than on calm water... once you achieve solidity on one foot, follow with the other and then try to stay on your two feet, but on the shore... now if you think it's not necessary, go straight in, but I warn you, you will fall many times before you master it and the weather is a bit cold... it wouldn't be good for you to get sick and delay your training"

"Right..." Nodding as he walked towards the shore, Sasuke gathered chakra on his foot and with visible confidence, placed it on the water.

Splash

Watching his foot sink, Sasuke frowned and tried again.

Splash

"Take it easy, chakra control is important and it's not something you can rush without it affecting you" Forming a pair of clones around him, Naruto continued "I'll leave these clones training chakra with you, I'll go train my body, feel free to ask them anything you need"

"Right..."

Nodding as he turns around, Naruto put his hands to the back of his neck and yawned as he headed towards his training area, but before he walked away, a small murmur made him smile slightly.

"Thank you..."

***

"In just an hour... he's certainly a genius" Turning his gaze towards the distance where the river is located, Naruto rested one of his hands as his body dangled from the slope and muttered.

-I don't like that Uchiha boy-

"I know, you've said it more than 10 times"

-I'm warning you, Naruto, no damn Uchiha can be trusted-

"And you've said that 15 times"

-I don't want to listen to your lamentations after the inevitable happens-

Laughing at the old fox's grumble, Naruto shook his head and mustering what little strength he had left, he pushed himself hard to the top of the cliff and sighed.

Wiping the blood from his hands on his clothes, Naruto flexed his arms to lighten his worn muscles and looked up at the dark sky "I guess that's enough for today"

Leaping towards the giant cliff drop, Naruto pulled two worn kunais out of his clothes and halfway down the fall, he plunged them deep into the rock and began to forcefully break his fall, then quickly braced his feet against the rock and leapt just a couple of meters from touching the ground.

Landing with ease, Naruto put away his kunais and wiped the blood from his hands again, then looked at the young man who approached him in a completely soaked state and smiled "You were much faster than me."

"It was more complicated than I expected" Taking off his jacket, Sasuke wrung it out and continued "But I easily noticed the difference in my control"

"And you're just getting started" Picking up his jacket from the floor, Naruto tossed it towards Sasuke and continued "Here, give it back to me when you wash it."

"..." Looking at the jacket in his hands, Sasuke looked at Naruto for a few seconds and nodded, then looked down at his bloody hands and asked "Are you okay?"

"I will be after you buy me ramen" Laughing, Naruto dusted off his clothes and commented "Shall we go?"

"I'd like to train some more..." Looking up at the dark sky, Sasuke replied.

"Improving your control expends a lot of chakra, I think you should be close to running dry by now" Shaking his head, Naruto continued "And while you can train your body, don't forget that Kakashi-sensei asked us to be awake very early for more missions, so it's best to rest."

Remaining silent for a few seconds, Sasuke nodded, then wringing out the rest of his clothes and putting on Naruto's jacket.

"Let's go" Leading the way, Naruto walked alongside Sasuke through the forest and after a few minutes, they emerged from the forest and walked towards the village.

Arriving at the edges of the village, Naruto sighed and changed his face to a random one.

With confusion, Sasuke asked "Why are you doing that?"

"Change my face?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen me in the village lately?"

"No."

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"But you knew what my situation was like before, didn't you?"

"Yes..."

"Since Iruka-sensei's death, everything became worse" Moving into the village, Naruto continued "Stones raining down, dirty water, garbage, everything works"

"They throw stones at you?" frowning slightly, Sasuke asked.

"I thought they would get bored eventually, but now they even keep their trash waiting for me to pass by" Laughing as he looked sideways, Naruto replied.

"Why don't you report it?"

"And what are they supposed to do? After all, the problem is the whole damn village" Shaking his head, Naruto continued with a smirk 'And it all becomes especially difficult when you take into account that more than once I've had rocks fall on me that came curiously from empty spaces on rooftops or in areas where it's impossible for civilians to be present.'

"Ninjas too?"

"Mn"

"..."

"..."

After a few minutes of a silent stroll through the bustling streets, the duo finally reached the store and entered, then sat down at a random table.

Waving his hand towards the man behind the bar, Naruto exclaimed "Give me 4 ramens with extra meat!"

Turning his gaze towards the source of the voice, Teuchi watched him silently for a few seconds and looked down at his clothes, then smiled and nodded "It's good to have you here Naruto."

Nodding with a smile, Naruto settled back in the chair and looked at the confused Sasuke "What's wrong?"

"He's a ninja?"

"No."

"Then how did he recognize you?"

"I've been coming to this place for as long as I can remember" Turning his gaze to the smiling man, Naruto smiled faintly and continued "I think he's the only person in this town who can recognize me even if I change my face."

"..." Nodding silently, Sasuke looked sideways for a few seconds and then looked at Naruto, then looked at his hands on the table and muttered "They already healed..."

"Being an Uzumaki gives me crazy vitality" Nodding as he looked at his hands, Naruto continued "This is especially useful when it comes to improving my physical strength."

"The Uzumakis..." Looking at the logo on his jacket, Sasuke continued "They were really strong."

"Can you imagine the crazy combination that would have come out between an Uzumaki and an Uchiha?" laughing, Naruto continued "You guys have a terrifying talent along with the Sharingan that makes you a real deadly weapon, but if you add to that the crazy vitality and crazy amount of chakra of the Uzumaki..."

"That would be... scary" Nodding after some thought, Sasuke continued "But I understand that the Uzumakis were never very close to the Uchiha, so it was pretty hard for it to happen."

"The problems are in our personality"

"Yes?"

"Uchihas have two very intense emotions" Nodding, Naruto continued "Love and hate."

"..."

"They love a lot, and hate a lot... unfortunately love and hate are two sides of the same coin and white can easily turn to black"

"I know."

"As for the Uzumakis... well, I understand that each of them had very strong and aggressive personalities, making them disliked by the silent Uchihas"

"I completely understand" With a slight snort as he looked off into the distance, Sasuke nodded.

"..." Looking at Sasuke for a few seconds, Naruto shook his head and laughed "Who knew this day would come?"

"..." Silently, Sasuke looked at Naruto doubtfully.

"You and me, training together and now eating together" Turning his gaze towards the streets of the village, Naruto was silent for a few seconds and continued "We always had problems and we were like cats and dogs... and being honest, it was me who was messing with you at every second"

"..." With a strange face, Sasuke remained silent and answered "You're not that annoying anymore"

"I envied you" Lowering his gaze, Naruto smiled bitterly and continued "Always surrounded by people, admired by everyone and a talent I thought I didn't have... worst of all, is that, despite the fact that you had everything I longed for, you just threw it aside and didn't give it the slightest importance... it really bothered me"

"..."

"But..." Turning his gaze to Sasuke, Naruto continued "Then I realized that I didn't see that the problem was always me, not you... I wasn't training hard enough, always fooling around and seeking approval from people who didn't deserve my attention at all"

"..."

"After all..." Lowering his gaze, Naruto muttered "I just didn't realize that we're just as broken."

"4 ramens with extra meat!" Arriving along with the 4 bowls of ramen, Teuchi smiled and continued "Enjoy!"

"Thank you" Nodding while taking two bowls for himself and leaving the other two with Sasuke, Naruto took the chopsticks and started eating with satisfaction.

"..." Looking at Naruto deeply, Sasuke finally looked down and brought one of the bowls closer and then started to eat in silence.

============================

Guys, from here we go for one chapter per day, but because it's the first week, I'll make an incentive. Also, if you have any doubt about the story or any recommendation, please leave it in the comments, since I'm always attentive to your interactions.

5 Reviews= 1 Chapter. 

150 Power Stones= 1 Chapter.

Every 300 Power Stones= 1 Chapter.

Every 10 Reviews= 1 Chapter.

(Duplicate reviews do not count)